Petrol profiteering? ‘I’m not robbing motorists, I’m only making 2-3p a litre’
A new unpleasant routine has begun at Bilal Naeem’s petrol station in sleepy Datchet, Berkshire. Almost every day someone will pull up, fill up and screech away without paying. “The crime rate has been incredible since fuel prices went up,” says Naeem, wincing. “A customer showed me a post on a local Facebook group telling people they only get a £50 fine for driving away without paying. That’s 50 quid of free petrol now.” One theft can wipe out his fuel profits for the day, he says.
Thefts at petrol stations have become an increasingly common sight in recent weeks amid record petrol and diesel prices. The mundane ritual of filling up has become a source of anger and frustration for drivers as the bright red neon price figures rapidly tick up by the side of the road. Refuelling an average family car now costs more than £100.
Naeem’s filling station is a few miles from Staines, which has one of the highest price differentials between neighbouring sites in the south of England. Data from PetrolPrices.com shows there’s an 11p a litre spread between the cheapest and most expensive stations.
The government has pledged to target “rip-off” petrol stations. Retailers have been accused of profiteering and not passing on a 5p a litre cut to fuel duty announced in March’s spring statement. After a request from the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, the Competition and Markets Authority has launched a “short and focused” review into the sector, due to report back on 7 July.
For their part, retailers have blamed the weakening of the pound against the dollar, rising oil prices and record margins pocketed by in-demand refineries for the price rises.
Naeem is not impressed with suggestions of profiteering. He stabs at his smartphone
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